A wide range of reviews of recommended books on primary and secondary drama, directing, Shakespeare and more. View each category by clicking on the tabs below.

100 Acting Exercises for 8-18 Year Olds by Samantha Marsden

Samantha Marsden provides a practical tour through the leading approaches to acting used on the stage today.
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100 Great Plays for Women

An introduction to 100 varied plays for female casts with synopsis, cast breakdown and a short essay about each play.
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101 Drama Games and Activities

A collection of highly effective games and exercises suitable for children, young people and adults.
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101 More Drama Games and Activities

Inspirational games and exercises suitable for drama lessons and workshops as well as during rehearsal and devising periods.
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A Beginner’s Guide to Devising Theatre by Jess Thorpe and Tashi Gore

An inspiring guidebook for planning to produce contemporary devised work with young people (or adults).
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Globe Education

Another brilliant volume from Globe Education which is perfect for students at Key Stage 3 and 4.
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A Practical Guide to Ensemble Devising

A thorough and practical guide to the making of ensemble collaborative performance.
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A Practical Guide to Shakespeare for the Primary School

A highly practical and original approach to exploring Shakespeare with primary-aged children.
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Books on Drama for Language Teaching and Learning

Recommended books on teaching and learning language through drama games and activities.
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Cinderella – Listen To Me – Restorative Justice (5-11 years)

Explore bullying issues through the story of Cinderella using drama, writing and restorative justice techniques
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Creating Drama with 7-11 Year Olds

A highly practical book providing a wide range of ideas for using drama across the curriculum.
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Creative Shakespeare – The Globe Education Guide to Practical Shakespeare

Highly enjoyable approaches used in Globe Theatre workshops with dozens of activities aimed at children aged from 11 to adult.
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Developing Drama Skills 11-14

An excellent framework for Key Stage 3 drama, including 16 practical and imaginative units of work.
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Drama Games for Classrooms and Workshops

It can easily be picked up and a suitable activity found for any group within a matter of moments.
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Drama Games for Devising

A brilliant collection of fun starting points and structures to get your company working together and shaping their work.
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Drama Games for Rehearsals

Delightful creative approaches for developing a production, whether a budding director or experienced actor.
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Drama Games for Those who Like to Say No

The majority of activities are aimed at those working with young people and adults in so-called "difficult" groups.
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Drama Games for Young Children

Forty lesson plans for those wishing to develop dramatic role-play, characterisation, exploration of emotions and themes with young children.
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Drama Lessons for the Primary School Year

25 drama schemes to take the teacher through the academic year using a range of accessible drama techniques.
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Drama Menu

Perfect book for planning drama sessions for secondary students and above, with games and longer activities.
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Drama Menu at a Distance: 80 Socially Distanced or Online Theatre Games by Glyn Trefor-Jones

Drama games for socially-distanced and online teaching, carefully planned for this difficult period we are living through.
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Drama Play: Bringing Books to Life Through Drama for 4 to 7 Year Olds

A series of ready-planned drama lessons based on 12 readily-available books for 4-7 year olds.
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Drama Schemes

Drama schemes for key stages 3-4 with themes ranging from substance abuse to survival in a post-apocalyptic world.
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Drama Sessions for Primary Schools and Drama Clubs

Aimed squarely at teachers and freelance practitioners wishing to run after school or private drama clubs.
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Drop Of A Hat by David Farmer – Review January 2022

Review: "...a useful and helpful book for primary practitioners."
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Early Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A CD-ROM abridged animated version of A Midsummer Night's Dream using the first 100 high frequency words and with games
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Ensemble Theatre Making: A Practical Guide

An analysis of the ensemble approach to devising theatre.
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Ideas for Drama Clubs

Recommended books for running drama clubs.
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Jumpstart! Drama

A dip-into book, containing over 40 approaches to using drama with well-known stories.
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Laban for All

Rudolf Laban's down to earth approach can be used to beneficially develop character movement for young children through to adults.
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Learning Through Drama in the Primary Years

“A must-have for those serious about the teaching of drama in primary school settings.”
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Learning Your Lines: The Compact Guide By Mark Channon

Using the experience of his acting career, Mark Channon applies Mindfulness and the Memory Palace approach to learning lines for
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Let’s Perform by Cath Howe

A sparkling collection of monologues, duologues and poems designed to encourage children to get up and perform.
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Macbeth – Globe Education Shakespeare

An attractive resource from Shakespeare's Globe Education including director's notes, actors' exercises and views by the actors.
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Making Theatre, The Frazzled Drama Teacher’s Guide to Devising

This book is particularly aimed at secondary drama teachers who help young people to make devised theatre for examinations.
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Mantle of the Expert – A Beginner’s Guide by Tim Taylor

'Mantle of the Expert' motivates children to learn about the real world through imaginative participation in a fictional context.
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My Favourite Drama Teaching Books

These books are ideal for practical ideas to use right away. The first two cover secondary as well as primary
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National Theatre: All About Theatre

A beautifully designed, colourful scrapbook providing a brilliant introduction to live theatre, focussing on family productions at the National Theatre.
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Our Country’s Good: A Study Guide

A practical guide to the performance of the play, including valuable insights into the directing process.
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Playful Plays Volume 1

A lively collection of eight short plays for children and young people supported by inspirational drama games.
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Playing the Mask: Acting Without Bullshit by John Wright

An expert and entertaining exploration of half-mask, full mask and archetypes with many games along the way.
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Plays for Youth Theatres and Large Casts

A volume of four popular scripts ideal for larger youth theatre casts by award-winning playwright Neil Duffield.
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Princesses, Dragons and Helicopter Stories: Storytelling and story acting in the early years

A fascinating storytelling approach to drama and learning, suitable for children from 18 months to 7 years old.
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Romeo and Juliet – Globe Education Shakespeare

An inspiring resource with a host of ideas and approaches to help teachers engage the teenagers it is aimed at.
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Shakespeare Primary Classics

Potted adaptations of five of Shakespeare's plays with amusing and ingenious staging devices.
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Shakespeare’s Heartbeat – Drama Games for Children with Autism

A fascinating book which outlines a unique approach to teaching Shakespeare to children on the autistic spectrum.
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Teach Drama: How to Make a Living as a Freelance Drama Teacher

Down-to-earth practical advice for those who would like to work as a freelance drama teacher.
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Teaching Primary Drama

Any teacher wishing to use drama to support creativity and learning across the curriculum would benefit from using this book.
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The Active Text: Unlocking Plays Through Physical Theatre

How physical theatre exercises, games and rehearsal techniques can be applied to scripted plays.
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The Drama Book by Alice Savage

A comprehensive guide to using plays and drama activities, ideal for those working with English language learners.
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The Drama Club by Mark Wheeller and Clive Hulme

Mark Wheeller's account of his reluctant foray into leading a Junior Drama Club.
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The Excellent Audition Guide

A clear guide full of helpful tips for anyone applying to drama school.
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The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre

Highly recommended insight into the work of a leading UK physical theatre company - a must for devising physical work.
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The Gruffalo Drama Activities (4-7 years)

Explore familiar themes and characters through improvisation and role play.
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The Improv Book

For anyone exploring improvisation, wanting to spice up rehearsals of existing material or devise their own work.
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The Primary Drama Handbook

A practical manual of drama lesson approaches for working across a range of curriculum subjects.
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The RSC Shakespeare Toolkit for Teachers

A thorough resource from the Royal Shakespeare Company including practical sessions and worksheets for three of Shakespeare's most popular plays.
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The Whoosh Book

Summaries of 42 stories, plays, myths and novels for 7-14 year-olds to use with the enjoyable Whoosh storytelling technique.
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Vocal Warm Ups and Exercises by Toula and James Messer

A delightfully illustrated book of simple vocal exercises and full body stretches.
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Why Is That So Funny?

A highly original and entertaining look at how to create comedic improvisation in rehearsal.
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101 Drama Games and Activities

101 Drama Games and Activities

‘Belongs amongst the top 10 books any director or drama teacher should own.’ – English Touring Opera

101 MORE Drama Games and Activities

101 MORE Drama Games and Activities

‘This book cheered me up. Buy it and smile. There will be a lot of laughter in your classroom.’
– National Drama Magazine.

Learning Through Drama in the Primary Years

Learning Through Drama in the Primary Years

‘Full of easily accessible advice… clear explanations and inventive suggestions.’
– National Drama Magazine.

Playful Plays Volume 1

Playful Plays Volume 1

‘An off-the-shelf, high-quality rehearsal process ideal for primary-aged students… the perfect go-to for short presentation pieces that pack a punch.’ – Teaching Drama Magazine.